Sabtu, 19 April 2008

Singapore (ANTARA News) - It is not easy for the Indonesian Embassy in Singapore to trace Indonesian corrupters who absconded with public money to this city state, Indonesian Ambassador to Singapore Wardana said here Saturday."We first have to see the data on corrupters who have fled to Singapore as there are also data showing that many of them have fled to other countries like the Philippines and China," the envoy told ANTARA.

Many Indonesian businesspeople are in Singapore and they are in general professionals, he said, adding "so we have to differentiate between professional businessmen and those who have been categorized as corrupters."

Hundreds of Indonesian businesspeople were working in Singapore very professionally and making significant contributions to efforts to develop the Indonesian economy, Wardana said when visiting the ongoing Asia Dive Expo (ADEX) 2008 in which Indonesia is also taking part.

"We lack clear data on Indonesian corrupters who have fled to Singapore. Jakarta must have such data. We, the Indonesian embassy, have no clear idea whether some of them are still here whereas we learned that many of them have fled to other countries," he said.

Asked about present relations between Indonesia and Singapore, the ambassador said there were indeed still some pending issues.

"For the time being, we have to put these issues aside until conditions are more conducive to discuss and solve them," he said.

However, in general, bilateral relations between Indonesia and Singapore were improving as indicated by the increasing number of reciprocal visits by the two countries` leaders and the signing of agreements in different sectors.

"The agreements are expected to further strenghten the foundation of the two countries` relations in different sectors," Wardana said.